Program for a Matinée at the Trocadéro 1903

This lithograph was made by Théophile Alexandre Steinlen in 1903. It looks like it's made with lithographic crayon, the marks are built up slowly into these velvety blacks. I love how Steinlen seems to be thinking through the tonal range as he goes, letting the image emerge from the darkness. I imagine him in the studio, reworking it bit by bit. Take a look at the way the crowd is rendered in the foreground with all of these hatched marks. The figures are smudged together with just a few highlights giving them form. This area gives the piece a real sense of dynamism, as if the scene is unfolding before our eyes. Overall, the print reminds me of Käthe Kollwitz, another artist who used lithography to portray the lives of everyday people with compassion and empathy. There’s a sense of humanism here, and a willingness to embrace the messiness of life, rather than striving for some kind of perfect finish.